Abandon
by MagickCirclet
Summary: Abandonment, and the meanings and affects of it in the life of Aragorn.


Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or any recognizable characters and/or places thereof

Author's Note: In the first segment, Aragorn has too recently come to Imladris to be known as Estel, and so is Aragorn. The last two segments are drabbles (exactly 100 words). I may add more to these, but may leave it at this…

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Abandon 1. To leave someone, especially someone you are responsible for:

When Aragorn awoke that morning, he did not know where he was. The bed felt too soft and the walls were too stiff. His people did not have such high, soft beds. Mostly they lived in tents and slept on bedrolls or furs. The boy sat up, blinking. Why was the light coming in? Looking about, he saw that there was a hole in the wall--that was just silly. Why would anyone build a hole in their wall? On closer inspection, he realized that the hole was covered by a strong, invisible substance. "Wow." The invisible wood--for, he decided, it must be wood--amazed him, but he was more interested in finding his mother. Where could she be?

Wandering down the hall, Aragorn gazed in wonder at his surroundings. He had never seen a place like this before--and had never felt so small before. It frightened him, being so little in a place so big. Where was his mother? "Mama!" he cried out, not knowing any better what to do. When there was no reply, he looked around, almost angrily, then cried out again, as loudly as he could manage, "Mama!" She did not come, and Aragorn began to cry. It did not occur to him to think that she had left him; rather, she was not coming. Where was she? Suddenly the hall was filled not with wonder but with fear. Aragorn felt very small and very alone. As he sat on the floor crying, it did not occur to him that someone might hear, but this is precisely what happened.

"Aragorn? Aragorn!" He heard his name but did not care; it was not his mother's voice and he only wanted her. "Oh, child…" The odd thing was that whomever had appeared had done so without the sound of footsteps. Before Aragorn knew what was happening, someone was holding him and rocking him as his mother once did, saying words he could not understand. In moments he was comfortable enough to stop crying. "There now," said the speaker. Aragorn drew back, his eyes wide with wonder. He had never seen anyone look so…so…so…what did the grey-eyed man look like? He could not say, for Aragorn had a limited vocabulary and did not know the right words to describe quite what an Elf was like.

"Want Mama," he said shortly.

"I am sorry, Aragorn. She is no longer here; she left late last night to rejoin the Dunedain," explained Lord Elrond, carefully not using any Elvish words. The boy would have no way of knowing them.

Aragorn could not comprehend this. Where was his mother, if not there? "Want Mama," he repeated, unsure of what else to say. Elrond tried to think of a way to tell the child the difficult truth: Gilraen was not in Imladris, and he did not know when she would be back, if ever. He suspected that no matter what he said, Aragorn's response would be the same: "want Mama." Who had the heart to tell such a child that his mother might never come back? Luckily, Elrond was spared this experience as Aragorn saw someone down the corridor, and shouted, "'Dan!" Elrond turned. Indeed, it was Elladan.

"Hello there, Aragorn," said Elladan, who had been hunting Orcs with the Dunedain and so was known to Aragorn.

"'Dan find Mama," said Aragorn confidently. Elladan turned uncomfortably to Elrond.

"Yes, Aragorn," replied Elladan, "I will. Shall we seek her together?" He offered his hand to the boy who took it. "Come, we will search the stable first…"

Gilraen was not found in Imladris, though Aragorn did manage to find a mouse, six worms, and a bullfrog. Elladan's ploy had been a general success, he felt, for so absorbed was Aragorn in the hunt that he nearly forgot the prey. His mother was not mentioned until that evening, when Elladan was putting his young charge to bed. "'Dan, we find Mama tomorrow?" asked Aragorn.

Elladan's heart twisted. He might be hated for telling a lie, if Aragorn remembered this night. Then, what good would the truth do? It would only hurt him. 'She left you here, Aragorn, alone in the world.' He was too young for that. "Yes, Aragorn. Tomorrow."

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To go away from a place etc. permanently, especially because the situation makes it impossible for you to stay

"Should we be here, Estel?"

Aragorn ignored his friend and knelt down, running his fingers through the dirt. He remembered when this dirt was mud, when it was sun-baked and when it was dry dust. The willow tree was near but he did not look upon it. He could not bear to remember the days as a child spent with his family, as a teen in contemplation, and as an adult, stolen moments with Arwen…

"Don't cry, Strider," said Legolas, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder. Aragorn faced him briefly, defiantly tear-stained.

They left Imladris together, never to return.

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To stop doing something because there are too many problems and it is impossible to continue

How had Aragorn gotten ahead of Gimli and Legolas? For a moment he paused that they might catch up. Three days without food or rest…and, Aragorn discovered, no water.

"Are you certain this is the way?" asked Gimli.

Aragorn bent to inspect the ground. "This is the way," he replied.

"We cannot go on like this, Aragorn. We are not nearer the hobbits now than we were three days ago!"

"Be that as it may," Aragorn replied, "I never abandon a friend." With this he leapt from his rock and sprinted onward. The Elf and Dwarf were quick to follow.

*****


End file.
